Ever wondered what elk or alligator tastes like? Or perhaps the lowly raccoon?

Residents of Tuscarawas, Coshocton and Holmes counties who possess adventurous palates can find out Sunday at the third annual wild-game dinner at Chili Crossroads Bible Church near Fresno.

Elk lasagna, wild turkey, rabbit, raccoon and jambalaya with fresh-from-Louisiana crawfish tails and Cajun-smoked alligator sausage are just some of the items on the menu.

The event begins at 5 p.m., and is free to residents of the three counties. The church is at 29445 county Road 10.

“The menu changes every year, based on what people bring,” said Neal Dearyan, the church’s pastor. “It’s a fun community event.”

Those attending are encouraged to bring whatever dishes they would like to prepare. “It’s a big potluck,” he said.

In past years, people have dined on Spanish mackerel, moose, bighorn sheep, deer, stingray and shark. Asked what shark tastes like, Dearyan remarked, “I’ve eaten it before. It’s like the other, other white meat.”

Most people at the event are adventurous enough to try some of the more-exotic dishes. “But for those who aren’t, we’re going to have salad and sides,” the pastor said.

For the first time, the church also will roast a whole deer on a spit.

In addition to the dinner, the church is sponsoring an Atomic Wing Challenge, in which participants try to eat as many super-hot wings as they can in five minutes without drinking any liquids. “These are some of the hottest wings on Earth,” Dearyan said.

The contest will be divided into an adult and juvenile division.

There also will be a wing contest, in which people are invited to bring in their creations to be judged by a panel of local dignitaries, including state Reps. Al Landis, R-Dover, and Bill Hayes, R-Harrison Township. Dearyan asked that wings for this contest not be “through the roof” hot.

People are also invited to bring any mounted wild game or photos they have to be displayed during the dinner. He asked that they be brought to the church a couple of days in advance.

Last year’s event attracted almost 300 people, filling the building to capacity. “It will probably be bigger this year,” he said.

Dearyan has been pastor of the Chili Crossroads Bible Church for the past four years, coming to rural eastern Coshocton County from a large church in Chicago, where he was a member of the ministerial staff. He described the move as something of a culture shock.

“This church needed a pastor,” he said. “We came here and checked it out, and we fell in love with the people. It’s been great.”

The church is thriving, having grown from an average attendance four years ago of 30 to about 120 today.

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Dearyan and his wife, Julie, are both hunters, though they rarely find time these days because of their work schedule.

In 1992, they went hunting in northern Minnesota, where Julie shot a bear from a tree stand while she was five months pregnant with their firstborn child. Neither had ever killed an animal that large before — or since.

The pastor said the wild game dinner has two purposes — to give him and his church a chance to get to know people and an opportunity to share the gospel.